How to fall asleep instantly

I’m back! It’s been almost a year since my last post. I’ve been getting rid of articles from this website for the last few weeks, as I feel that some of them weren’t that helpful compared to some of the content I put a lot more effort into. I’ve also revamped the email newsletter so make sure you check that out by subscribing in any of the forms on this page!

How are you sleeping?

Are you getting the full amount of sleep your body needs every night? Or are you taking ages to fall asleep each night, getting just a few hours and waking up groggy, feeling like shit, and reaching for the nearest source of caffeine?

And do you feel jealous of people who just drop straight to sleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow?

But if you keep on reading, and implement the super-easy steps in each of these three methods, you’ll get better at getting to sleep faster starting from tonight.

Your heart rate is too high

When you go to bed, is your brain still buzzing, and do you struggle to switch it off? Do you keep thinking about things that happened that day? Or even things that happened years ago?

Well you’re among a lot of people who do that. And it’s destroying your chances of getting a good night’s sleep.

Even something as simple as playing video games or watching an emotional movie right before bedtime can raise your heart rate.

Even if you don’t consciously feel stressed, your breathing rate and heart rate can both be in a more active state – your breathing rate short and fast and your heart beating fast.

You can actually slow your heart rate down by changing your breathing pattern. All you have to do is slow your breathing right down, and take in a lot more air with each breath.

This method is so effective at relaxing you and slowing down your heart reate, it’s almost like taking a sedative.

Method #1 – The 4-7-8 Method

Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds

Hold your breath for 7 seconds

Breathe out through your mouth for 8 seconds

Repeat until you fall asleep

Credit for this method goes to Alina Gonzalez, who used this technique to help herself fall asleep faster the night before a big wedding.

This method is so simple and easy to try, and it will affect you like it affected me. Just this one method was effective enough to fall asleep faster.

And now I use it every single night to get a good night’s rest.

Get into a schedule

Before you go to bed, do you lie down and read a book? Or do you look at your smartphone or laptop?

And do you also snooze in bed most mornings, not getting up for a good while after waking?

Well according to Steve Pavlina, both of those habits are actively hurting your chances at getting to sleep quickly.

And if anyone knows how to get to sleep faster, it’s him, if we’re to believe his claims at how fast he can fall asleep – sometimes as fast as a quarter of a second.

He says that to get faster at falling asleep, you need a stricter schedule for bed usage, and regular napping.

In particular, he recommends waking up at the same time every day with an alarm, and getting into bed so that the time between then and your usual wake-up time is exactly how much sleep you want.

So if you need to be up at 7am, climb into bed at midnight.

He also recommends that you immediately attempt to sleep when you lie down in your bed. No reading, no thinking, just sleeping.

Do not snooze or lounge around in your bed when you wake up either. Get up as soon as you wake up. Do not let your brain and body associate lying down in bed with anything other than being asleep.

Napping regularly can also help to reinforce this.

Put a timer on for 20 minutes, lie down in your bed or somewhere else that’s comfortable. After the timer’s up, get up. No thoughts or other activities, just try to get some sleep.

If you didn’t sleep, that’s fine. You’ll get there. If you did sleep, fantastic. But don’t lounge around for any longer than the time you allot yourself to nap.

This will help to reinforce the strict timing patterns of sleeping. When you’re lying down, you’re sleeping. You’re not snoozing or lounging.

Method #2 – Strict, Regimented Sleeping Times

Wake up at the same time every day, with an alarm

Go to bed so that you need to sleep every hour between then and your alarm time

Attempt to sleep as soon as you go to bed

Get up as soon as you wake up in the morning

Take strict 20 minute naps during the day

The only thing I disagree with slightly is the caffeine part. I’ve been able to keep drinking coffee first thing in the morning and I’ve been perfectly able to fall asleep much faster than I used to.

I definitely don’t drink coffee or take any source of caffeine after midday though.

Darkness

To get ready for sleep, darkness in your bedroom is essential. You probably already knew that.

But in the hours leading up to bedtime, are you staring at a smartphone screen, or at a laptop or desktop computer screen?

Well that actually has enough of an effect to damage your sleep. There are many studies that have shown that the glare from these devices tricks your brain into thinking it’s earlier in the day, keeping you awake.

This mental activation is the opposite of what you want to happen late at night. You should be chilling out and relaxing, not switching on your brain.

This relates back to the first point – your brain and body are easily tricked by modern technology.

But fortunately this works both ways. And there is a free app you can use on your computer, smartphone, you name it, to keep using these devices while avoiding the eerie blue glare that keeps you awake.

It’s called f.lux. It adjusts the brightness and colour of your monitor or device’s screen to match the time of day wherever you are in the world.

In the morning and throughout the day your screen will be completely normal, and as it gets into the evening and towards bedtime, you’ll notice the software gradually softening the brightness and colours on the screen.

It only take a few seconds to download and automatically activate itself. The colour change is weird at first, but you’ll get used to it.

You’ll definitely notice a difference in how much kinder your screen will be on your eyes too. Looking at a regular screen you’ll instantly want to look away because it’s so much brighter.

Best of all, it’s 100% free to download.

Also, you shouldn’t have loads of lights on in your environment before you go to bed, especially if they’re physically close to you.

Turn off desk lamps and only have one light source on in a room. You’ll naturally find yourself starting to doze off after about half an hour of this decreased light in the room you’re in.